A thujopsis traditional chinese medicine extraction device and extraction method

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of thuja Chinese medicine extraction equipment and extraction method.The extraction equipment at least includes distillation kettle, distillation kettle includes kettle body, condensate tank, condenser, cooling barrel and water supplement barrel;The kettle body is used for hot water;The condensate tank is arranged around the top of the side wall of kettle body, and the bottom is provided with liquid outlet;The condenser is arranged on the condensate tank, for condensation, and the condensed liquid is discharged from the liquid outlet of condensate tank;The cooling barrel is connected with the liquid outlet, for cooling the extract after condensation;The water supplement barrel is connected between condenser and kettle body, for water supplement of kettle body.The extraction equipment can extract volatile oil components of Chinese medicine thuja by water distillation method, reduces equipment investment and the cost of production process.The extraction method is used for the extraction of medicinal ingredients of Chinese medicine composition containing thuja using the extraction equipment, which effectively extracts the volatile oil components of thuja, and can retain the advantages of traditional decoction method as a whole.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of natural plant extract technology, specifically relating to an extraction device and method for the traditional Chinese medicine *Thuja orientalis*. Background Technology

[0002] *Thuja sutchuenensis*, an evergreen tree belonging to the genus *Thuja* in the family Cupressaceae, has been found to contain terpenoids such as juniperene, α-pinene, and limonene in its roots, stems, and leaves. These terpenoids are highly lipid-soluble, have small molecules, and possess antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor, blood pressure-lowering, anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and expectorant properties. In recent years, artificial planting experiments of *Thuja sutchuenensis* have been successfully conducted, providing conditions for further research and development.

[0003] Due to the high added value of cypress oil, the main extraction methods currently used include steam distillation, supercritical CO2 extraction, and organic solvent extraction. However, these methods, especially supercritical CO2 extraction and organic solvent extraction, have high requirements for the sealing and safety of the extraction equipment, as well as very strict requirements for the media and process conditions used. Applying them to large-scale industrial production may increase equipment investment and production costs.

[0004] In addition, due to its extremely high medicinal value, cliff cypress has been gradually used in Chinese medicine prescriptions and processing. However, the common Chinese medicine extraction methods are mainly water extraction or alcohol extraction. Although these methods can effectively extract other components in the prescription, they are difficult to efficiently extract the volatile oil components contained in cliff cypress. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an extraction device and method for the traditional Chinese medicine *Thuja orientalis*, which extracts the volatile oil components of *Thuja orientalis* through water distillation, thereby reducing equipment investment and production costs. To this end, this invention provides the following technical solution:

[0006] On the one hand, the present invention provides a device for extracting essential oil from Chinese cypress, including a distillation pot, wherein the distillation pot includes a pot body, a condensate tank, a condenser, a cooling tank and a water replenishment tank;

[0007] The pot body is used for hot water, and its side wall has a water inlet and a drain outlet.

[0008] The condensate tank is arranged around the top of the side wall of the pot body, and has a liquid outlet at the bottom;

[0009] The condenser includes a water storage cylinder and a cover. The water storage cylinder has an opening at its lower end, and the wall thickness of the opening is less than the width of the condensate tank. The outer wall of the water storage cylinder can be inserted into the tank along the wall of the condensate tank, thereby covering the top of the pot body with the water storage cylinder. The cover is a conical shell disposed inside the water storage cylinder, and its opening coincides with the lower opening of the water storage cylinder, thereby forming a sealed space between the cover and the water storage cylinder. The lower part of the side wall of the water storage cylinder has a water inlet, and the upper part has a water outlet.

[0010] The cooling tank has a sealed interior and is equipped with a coil. The top of the cooling tank has a cooling water outlet and a condensate inlet, and the bottom has a cooling water inlet and a condensate outlet. The cooling water outlet is used to connect to external cooling water and is connected to the inlet pipe. The two ends of the coil are connected to the condensate inlet and the cooling water outlet, respectively. The cooling water outlet is also connected to the outlet pipe.

[0011] The water supply tank has a water supply inlet at the top and a water supply outlet on the upper side wall. The water supply inlet is connected to the water outlet pipe, and the water supply outlet is connected to the water supply inlet pipe.

[0012] In some embodiments, the distillation pot further includes a material basket, the side walls and bottom of which are provided with filter holes or grids, and the top of the outer side wall has a plurality of locking blocks protruding therefrom, and the basket opening is provided with a handle for lifting the material basket; the top of the inner wall of the pot has a plurality of protrusions, the top of which has grooves, and the locking blocks can be matched and inserted into the grooves, thereby placing the material basket in the pot.

[0013] In some embodiments, the pot body is further provided with a liquid level sensor, and the pipe between the water supply outlet and the water supply port is provided with a regulating valve. The regulating valve is electrically connected to the liquid level sensor, and the regulating valve is used to control the liquid level in the pot body at a preset value according to the detection result of the liquid level sensor.

[0014] In some embodiments, the extraction device may further include an oil-water separator. The oil-water separator includes a cylinder, a partition, and a control mechanism; the cylinder is sealed at both ends and hollow inside; the partition is axially arranged at the center of the cylinder, thereby dividing the interior of the cylinder into two parts: a feeding chamber and a discharging chamber. An opening connects the bottoms of the feeding chamber and the discharging chamber. An oil-water inlet communicating with the condensate outlet is located at the top of the feeding chamber. An essential oil outlet is located at the upper part of the side wall of the discharging chamber, and a pure oil outlet is located at the lower part. The control mechanism is located within the discharging chamber and is used to gradually expose the essential oil outlet and the pure oil outlet during the oil-water separation process.

[0015] In at least one embodiment, the control mechanism includes two baffles whose shape fits the inner wall of the cylinder, a floating block disposed above the discharge chamber, and a connecting rod connecting the baffles and the floating block. The two baffles block the essential oil outlet and the pure oil outlet respectively under the action of weight. The floating block can float to the top of the feed chamber under the action of buoyancy, thereby lifting the two baffles and fully exposing the essential oil outlet and the pure oil outlet at this time.

[0016] In some embodiments, the extraction apparatus further includes an extraction tank and a concentrator, the inlet end of the extraction tank being connected to the drain outlet of the distillation pot, and the inlet end of the concentrator being connected to both the outlet end of the extraction tank and the pure outlet of the oil-water separator.

[0017] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a method for extracting Chinese cypress from cliff cypress, which is applicable to Chinese medicine compositions using cliff cypress as one of the raw materials, and utilizes the aforementioned cliff cypress extraction equipment, and includes the following steps:

[0018] 1) Place the cliff cypress in the distillation pot, add water to soak, boil and then distill. After the distillation product is processed by the oil-water separator, cliff cypress essential oil and hydrosol are obtained.

[0019] 2) Filter the liquid in the distillation pot, pass the filtrate into the extraction tank, add other raw materials other than cypress to the extraction tank, boil and decoct, filter, pass the filtrate into the concentrator, and then pass the hydrosol obtained in step 1) into it and concentrate it into a clear paste.

[0020] The present invention achieves at least the following beneficial effects: The extraction equipment provided by the present invention extracts cypress essential oil by water distillation. The entire equipment is simple to operate and does not require stringent conditions. Moreover, by using a distillation pot and an oil-water separator in combination, cypress essential oil can be effectively extracted, which is beneficial for the preparation of extracts. The extraction method provided by the present invention can be used to separate cypress from other raw materials in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. It can effectively extract the volatile oil components of cypress while retaining the traditional water decoction method as a whole, and can be used to extract most of the medicinal components in traditional Chinese medicine raw materials. Attached Figure Description

[0021] One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] Figure 1 This is a front view of an embodiment of the Chinese cypress extracting device of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Cross-sectional view of the embodiment;

[0024] Figure 3 for Figure 2A magnified view of a portion of region A in the middle;

[0025] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A perspective view of the pot body in the embodiment;

[0026] Figure 5 for Figure 1 A perspective view of the material basket in the embodiment;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a perspective view of one embodiment of an oil-water separator;

[0028] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Cross-sectional view of an oil-water separator;

[0029] Figure 8 for Figure 6 A perspective view of the cylinder of an oil-water separator;

[0030] Figure 9 for Figure 6 A 3D view of the control mechanism of an oil-water separator;

[0031] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating the equipment usage in an embodiment of the method for extracting Chinese medicinal herbs from *Thuja orientalis*.

[0032] The diagram is labeled as follows: 1. Distillation vessel; 11. Vessel body; 111. Water inlet; 112. Drain outlet; 113. Protrusion; 114. Slot; 12. Condensate tank; 121. Liquid outlet; 13. Condenser; 131. Water storage tank; 132. Cover; 133. Water inlet; 134. Water outlet; 14. Cooling tank; 141. Coil; 142. Cooling water outlet; 143. Condensate inlet; 144. Cooling water inlet; 145. Condensate outlet; 15. Water inlet tank; 151. Water inlet... 152. Water outlet; 16. Material basket; 161. Clamping block; 162. Handle; 17. Liquid level sensor; 18. Regulating valve; 19. Heating chamber; 2. Oil-water separator; 21. Cylinder; 211. Feeding chamber; 212. Discharge chamber; 213. Oil-water inlet; 214. Essential oil outlet; 215. Pure oil outlet; 22. Baffle; 23. Control mechanism; 231. Baffle; 232. Floating block; 233. Connecting rod; 221. Guide groove; 234. Through hole; 235. Slider. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided herein to make the disclosure of the present invention more complete and to fully convey the inventive concept to those skilled in the art.

[0034] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "lateral," "longitudinal," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "upper," "lower," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this invention.

[0035] First, the present invention provides an embodiment of an extraction device for extracting Chinese herbal extracts from *Thuja orientalis*. The extraction device mainly consists of two parts: a distillation pot for water distillation and an oil-water separator for separating the oil from the distillation product.

[0036] like Figures 1-5 As shown, the extraction device in this embodiment includes a distillation pot 1 and an oil-water separator 2. The distillation pot 1 includes a pot body 11, a condensate tank 12, a condenser 13, a cooling tank 14, and a water supply tank 15. The pot body 11 is used for hot water, and its side wall has a water supply port 111 and a drain port 112. The condensate tank 12 is arranged around the top of the side wall of the pot body 11, and has a liquid outlet 121 at the bottom. The condenser 13 includes a water storage cylinder 131 and a cover 132. The lower end of the water storage cylinder 131 is open, and the wall thickness of the open end is less than the width of the condensate tank 12. The outer side wall can be inserted into the tank along the tank wall of the condensate tank 12, thereby covering the top of the pot body 11 with the water storage cylinder 131. The cover 132 is a conical shell disposed inside the water storage cylinder 131, and its opening coincides with the lower opening of the water storage cylinder 131, thereby forming a sealed space between the cover 132 and the water storage cylinder 131. The lower part of the side wall has a water inlet 133 and the upper part has a water outlet 134. The interior of the cooling tank 14 is a sealed space and is equipped with a coil 141. The top of the cooling tank 14 has a cooling water outlet 142 and a condensate inlet 143, and the bottom has a cooling water inlet 144 and a condensate outlet 145. The cooling water outlet 142 is used to connect to external cooling water and is connected to the water inlet 133. The two ends of the coil 141 are connected to the condensate inlet 143 and the cooling water outlet 142, respectively. The cooling water outlet 142 is also connected to the liquid outlet 121. The top of the water replenishment tank 15 has a water replenishment inlet 151 and the upper side wall has a water replenishment outlet 152. The water replenishment inlet 151 is connected to the water outlet 134 and the water replenishment outlet 152 is connected to the water replenishment inlet 111.

[0037] The inner edge of the top of the condensate tank 12 and the inner edge of the lower opening of the water storage cylinder 131 are both transitioned with arc surfaces to facilitate the installation of the condenser 13 and leave more space for collecting condensate.

[0038] The distillation pot 1 also includes a material basket 16, which has filter holes or grids on its side walls and bottom. Multiple locking blocks 161 protrude from the top of the outer side wall, and a handle 162 is provided at the basket opening for lifting the basket 16. Multiple protrusions 113 are located on the top of the inner wall of the pot body 11, with slots 114 on the top of each protrusion. The locking blocks 161 can be inserted into the slots 114 to hold the material basket 16 inside the pot body 11. This material basket 16 facilitates feeding and also has a filtering function. During use, the locking blocks 161 and slots 114 work together to ensure the stable placement of the material basket 16.

[0039] The pot body 11 is also equipped with a liquid level sensor 17. A regulating valve 18 is installed on the pipe between the water supply outlet 152 and the water supply port 111. The regulating valve 18 is electrically connected to the liquid level sensor 17. The regulating valve 18 is used to control the liquid level in the pot body 11 at a preset value based on the detection result of the liquid level sensor 17. During use, after feeding and adding water, the liquid level initially measured by the liquid level sensor 17 is set as the preset liquid level value, and the regulating valve 18 replenishes water from the water supply tank 15 according to this liquid level.

[0040] The bottom of the pot body 11 is provided with a heating chamber 19, and the heating chamber 19 is provided with an electric heating element for the pot body 11. The heating element can be an electric heating rod or a gas stove, and the bottom of the pot body 11 is heated by electric heating or gas heating.

[0041] refer to Figures 6-9 The oil-water separator 2 includes a cylinder 21, a partition 22, and a control mechanism 23. The cylinder 21 is sealed at both ends and hollow inside. The partition 22 is axially arranged at the center of the cylinder 21, thereby dividing the inside of the cylinder 21 into two parts: a feed chamber 211 and a discharge chamber 212. There is a connecting opening between the bottom of the feed chamber 211 and the discharge chamber 212. The top of the feed chamber 211 has an oil-water inlet 213 that communicates with the condensate outlet 145. The upper part of the side wall of the discharge chamber 212 has an essential oil outlet 214, and the lower part has a pure oil outlet 215.

[0042] The control mechanism 23 is located in the discharge chamber 212 and includes two baffles 231 whose shape conforms to the inner wall of the cylinder 21, a floating block 232 located at the top of the discharge chamber 212, and a connecting rod 233 connecting the baffles 231 and the floating block 232. Under the action of weight, the two baffles 231 respectively block the essential oil outlet 214 and the pure oil outlet 215. The floating block 232 can float to the top of the feed chamber 211 under the action of buoyancy, thereby lifting the two baffles 231 and fully exposing the essential oil outlet 214 and the pure oil outlet 215. The cylinder 21 is cylindrical; the floating block 232 is a semi-circular plate, and the material should preferably be a floating plastic material. Since the equipment of the present invention is used for the essential oil and clear paste obtained after extraction, it often needs to be re-mixed when preparing downstream products, or re-mixed when put into use, so the requirement for the separation effect of essential oil is not high. After using the control mechanism 23, the floating block 232 can ensure that the oil-water mixture can achieve initial stratification after a certain period of time (not too long) of settling, and finally complete the oil-water separation.

[0043] The floating block 232 has several through holes 234 for ventilation, which facilitates its buoyancy. The partition 22 has a vertical guide groove 221 on one side of the discharge chamber 212. The floating block 232 has a notch along its edge facing the guide groove 221, and a slider 235 that can slide up and down within the guide groove 221 is located inside the notch. The slider 235 and the guide groove 221 allow the floating block 232 to move more smoothly up and down.

[0044] In addition, the extraction equipment also includes an extraction tank and a concentrator. The inlet of the extraction tank is connected to the drain outlet of the distillation pot 1. When using the concentrator, the cypress is first placed in the material basket 16 and then placed into the pot body 11. Water is then added from the top of the pot body 11 to a suitable level. The condenser 13 is then placed over the top of the pot body 11, and cold water is introduced through the cooling water inlet 144 to heat the liquid in the pot body 11. The distilled steam is condensed by the condenser 13 and flows into the condensate tank 12, then enters the oil-water separator 2 for oil-water separation to obtain the essential oil. The liquid level in the pot body 11 is controlled by the cooperation of the liquid level sensor 17 and the regulating valve 18. The replenished liquid is supplied by the warm water supply end of the water replenishment tank 15, which is connected to both the outlet of the extraction tank and the pure outlet 215 of the oil-water separator 2.

[0045] Secondly, the present invention also provides a specific embodiment of the extraction method of *Thuja orientalis* (Chinese cypress) traditional Chinese medicine. This extraction method is applicable to traditional Chinese medicine compositions using *Thuja orientalis* as one of the raw materials, and utilizes the aforementioned *Thuja orientalis* traditional Chinese medicine extraction equipment. It includes the following steps:

[0046] 1) Place the cliff cypress in the distillation pot, add water to soak, boil and then distill. After the distillation product is processed by the oil-water separator, cliff cypress essential oil and hydrosol are obtained.

[0047] 2) Filter the liquid in the distillation pot, and pass the filtrate into the extraction tank. Add other raw materials (excluding Cypress) to the extraction tank, boil and decoct, filter, and pass the filtrate into a concentrator. Then pass the hydrosol obtained in step 1) into the concentrator and concentrate them together into a clear paste. The Cypress essential oil and the clear paste are packaged together or separately.

[0048] More specifically, a traditional Chinese medicine composition comprising the following ingredients in parts by weight is given as an example: 80 parts of cypress, 3 parts of ginger, 8 parts of soapberry, 15 parts of tea seed cake, 8 parts of fleeceflower root, 30 parts of soapberry, 8 parts of astragalus, 15 parts of arborvitae leaf, 10 parts of kochia fruit, 2 parts of dictamnus root bark, 10 parts of sophora flavescens, and 10 parts of salvia miltiorrhiza.

[0049] The steps of the extraction method of Chinese cypress are as follows: 1) Place Chinese cypress in a distillation pot, add water and soak for 0.1-5 hours, boil and then distill for 2-8 hours. The weight ratio of Chinese cypress to water in the distillation pot is kept at 1:6-20. After the distillation product is processed by an oil-water separator, Chinese cypress essential oil and hydrosol are obtained. The obtained Chinese cypress essential oil is component A of the Chinese cypress extract.

[0050] 2) Filter the liquid in the distillation pot, and pass the filtrate into the extraction tank. Add the raw material components other than the Chinese cypress to the extraction tank, boil and decoct for 0.5 to 3 hours, filter, and pass the filtrate into the concentrator to concentrate to 30% to 40% of the original volume. Then pass it into the hydrosol obtained in step 1) and concentrate it together into a clear paste. The obtained clear paste is component B of the Chinese cypress herbal extract.

[0051] The extract obtained from the above-mentioned traditional Chinese medicine composition can be added to hair care products, which can be shampoos or conditioners. The amount of component A added to the hair care product is 0.1 wt% to 3 wt%, and the amount of component B added is 1 wt% to 10 wt%. The resulting hair care product has a pleasant fragrance and effects such as inhibiting seborrheic dermatitis and controlling dandruff, demonstrating the feasibility and excellent technical effects of the extraction method of this invention.

[0052] It should be understood that all the above embodiments are exemplary and not restrictive. Various modifications or variations made by those skilled in the art to the specific embodiments described above under the concept of the present invention should be within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for extracting Chinese cypress root, characterized in that: The distillation pot includes a pot body, a condensate tank, a condenser, a cooling tank, a water replenishment tank, and an oil-water separator. The pot body is used for hot water, and its side wall has a water inlet and a drain outlet. The condensate tank is arranged around the top of the side wall of the pot body, and has a liquid outlet at the bottom; The condenser includes a water storage cylinder and a cover. The water storage cylinder has an opening at its lower end, and the wall thickness of the opening is less than the width of the condensate tank. The outer wall of the water storage cylinder can be inserted into the tank along the wall of the condensate tank, thereby covering the top of the pot body with the water storage cylinder. The cover is a conical shell disposed inside the water storage cylinder, and its opening coincides with the lower opening of the water storage cylinder, thereby forming a sealed space between the cover and the water storage cylinder. The lower part of the side wall of the water storage cylinder has a water inlet, and the upper part has a water outlet. The cooling tank has a sealed interior and is equipped with a coil. The top of the cooling tank has a cooling water outlet and a condensate inlet, and the bottom has a cooling water inlet and a condensate outlet. The cooling water outlet is used to connect to external cooling water and is connected to the inlet pipe. The two ends of the coil are connected to the condensate inlet and the cooling water outlet, respectively. The cooling water outlet is also connected to the outlet pipe. The water supply tank has a water supply inlet at the top and a water supply outlet on the upper side wall. The water supply inlet is connected to the water outlet pipe, and the water supply outlet is connected to the water supply inlet pipe. The oil-water separator includes a cylinder, a baffle plate, and a control mechanism. The cylinder is sealed at both ends and hollow inside. The baffle plate is axially arranged at the center of the cylinder, dividing the interior of the cylinder into a feed chamber and a discharge chamber. An opening connects the bottoms of the feed chamber and the discharge chamber. The top of the feed chamber has an oil-water inlet communicating with the condensate outlet. The upper part of the side wall of the discharge chamber has an essential oil outlet, and the lower part has a pure oil outlet. The control mechanism is located within the discharge chamber and is used to gradually expose the essential oil outlet and the pure oil outlet during the oil-water separation process. The control mechanism includes... Two baffles, shaped to fit the inner wall of the cylinder, a floating block located above the discharge chamber, and a connecting rod connecting the baffles and the floating block. Under the action of weight, the two baffles respectively block the essential oil outlet and the pure oil outlet. The floating block can float to the top of the feed chamber under the action of buoyancy, thereby lifting the two baffles and fully exposing the essential oil outlet and the pure oil outlet. The floating block has several through holes. The side of the partition plate in the discharge chamber is provided with a guide groove vertically. The floating block has a notch facing the edge of the guide groove, and a slider that can slide up and down in the guide groove is provided in the notch.

2. The herbal extraction equipment for *Thuja orientalis* according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distillation pot also includes a material basket, the side walls and bottom of which are provided with filter holes or grids, and multiple locking blocks protrude from the top of the outer side wall. The basket opening is equipped with a handle for lifting the material basket. The top of the inner wall of the pot has multiple protrusions, and the top of the protrusions has grooves. The locking blocks can be matched and inserted into the grooves to hold the material basket in the pot.

3. The herbal extraction equipment for *Thuja orientalis* according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pot body is also equipped with a liquid level sensor. The pipe between the water supply outlet and the water supply port is equipped with a regulating valve. The regulating valve is electrically connected to the liquid level sensor. The regulating valve is used to control the liquid level in the pot body at a preset value according to the detection result of the liquid level sensor.

4. The herbal extraction equipment for *Thuja orientalis* according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an extraction tank and a concentrator. The inlet end of the extraction tank is connected to the drain outlet of the distillation pot, and the inlet end of the concentrator is connected to both the outlet end of the extraction tank and the pure outlet of the oil-water separator.

5. A method for extracting Chinese cypress from cliff cypress, the method being applicable to Chinese medicine compositions using cliff cypress as one of the raw materials, and employing the Chinese cypress extraction equipment described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that... Includes the following steps: 1) Place the cliff cypress in the distillation pot, add water to soak, boil and then distill. After the distillation product is processed by the oil-water separator, cliff cypress essential oil and hydrosol are obtained. 2) Filter the liquid in the distillation pot, pass the filtrate into the extraction tank, add other raw materials other than cypress to the extraction tank, boil and decoct, filter, pass the filtrate into the concentrator, and then pass the hydrosol obtained in step 1) into it and concentrate it into a clear paste.

6. The method for extracting Chinese cypress root according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cypress essential oil and the ointment are packaged together or separately.

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